Last week I was doing a spring sweep of my closet and the drawer of mismatched pins and beads won the argument. I spread them out on the kitchen table, and the idea came together on its own: plain foam eggs, floral sequins, and tiny pearl beads. The result reads a little like the elaborate Fabergé eggs you see in museums — but softer, and spring-colored.
Here is the honest pitch. This is not a weekend project you finish while the kettle boils. It takes patience. But it is also the kind of slow craft that lets your hands move while your brain rests, and the finished eggs are genuinely pretty enough to sit on a mantel all spring.
I made three eggs with three different pin setups, so you can see how each option lands before you commit to a single route.
What You Need
All of the supplies are standard craft store stock — in the US, Hobby Lobby, a craft chain, carries everything below. The sequin line I used is called Blooming Meadow, and you will find it in the in-store sequin section rather than online.
- Foam craft eggs
- Floral sequins (Blooming Meadow line, or any floral sequins you like)
- Sequin pins (applies in three ways — see below)
- 3mm plastic pearl beads — any color or style you want
For the pins, you have three working options, and all of them give a pretty finished egg. The difference is in the feel and the effort.
Sequin pins plus your own tiny beads give you the widest range of bead colors, and this is the least expensive route. The trade-off: those pins are small, and holding them takes practice.
Pearl head pins come with the pearl already attached. They are bigger, so the finished egg has a different texture, and they are easier to grip because you skip the bead-attaching step. They cost more — I used almost a full 150-count package for one egg.
The third option is no beads at all. Pins and sequins only. The egg looks flatter, and the sequins become the whole show.
How to Make Them
The steps are almost insultingly simple, which is the point of this craft.
- If you are using plain sequin pins, thread a 3mm bead onto the pin first. If you are using pearl head pins, skip this step.
- Place a sequin where you want it on the egg.
- Push the pin through the sequin and into the foam.
- Repeat until the whole egg is covered.
That is genuinely the whole technique. Everything else is tips I learned by having sore fingertips.
Tips I Wish I Had Known First
The tiny sequin pins hurt to hold, and pushing them into foam with bare fingers was wearing me down. The fix: grip the pin in a pair of jewelry pliers, add the bead, place the sequin, and keep the pliers squeezed tight while you press the pin into the egg. Your hands stay happy.
The pearl head pins are easier to handle, but the foam is thicker around the seam line, and pins sometimes refused to go in. If a spot resists, make a starter hole with a sewing needle or a push pin. Keep the hole small, or the pin will slide straight back out.
On timing: I did not stop the clock, but I would say each egg took me around an hour. That is not a flaw — I had an audiobook on and something to keep my hands busy. Some people call it tedious. I find it soothing. That is a slow craft, and it rewards the pace.
One of my three eggs uses mostly the leaf-shaped sequins, and it is the one that reads the most Easter to me. Each egg turned out different, but they sit together without clashing.
Style Math
Cost-per-wear does not quite apply to an egg, but the math is close: a one-time basket of foam eggs, sequins, and pins, and you get a keepsake that outlives the holiday. Under a craft-store trip’s normal price, with an hour of your attention, that is about as low-cost as a decorative piece gets. And the pins and pliers stay in your craft drawer for the next project.
FAQ
Do I need any artistic talent?
Not really. The whole technique is placing a sequin and pushing a pin through it. You need patience more than skill — this is a repetitive, meditative craft.
Which pin option should I pick?
If you want variety in bead color and a lower cost, use plain sequin pins with your own 3mm beads. If you want the easiest handling, use pearl head pins — just know they cost more, at roughly a 150-count package per egg. If you want the cleanest look, skip beads entirely and let the sequins carry the design.
How long does one egg take?
Plan on around an hour per egg. I listened to an audiobook the whole time. It is a slow craft, and that is the appeal.
a note from Lena — I am already hunting for a pastel pack of tiny beads to swap in for the pearls, and for different sequin shapes. So many directions to take this. Which of the three eggs would you put on your mantel?
If you like slow crafts, my spring capsule wardrobe refresh and the cost-per-wear guide are good next reads.